


red velvet

by DJBunn3



Series: Voltron Bingo [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Bodyguard Keith (Voltron), Cake, Feeding, Fluff, Food, M/M, Prince Lance (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-08-03 19:44:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16332257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DJBunn3/pseuds/DJBunn3
Summary: Unsurely, Keith opens his mouth and leans forward, wrapping his lips around the fork before pulling back. The cake is moist and dense, and he can’t help but enjoy practically eating it out of his prince’s hand. He looks up from under his eyelashes, blushing when he sees Lance staring at him intently.“Thank you,” he says as he lowers his eyes, although he’s not quite sure what he’s thankful for--the cake, or the sight in front of him.(a prince, a bodyguard, and a piece of cake.)





	red velvet

“Test the cake for me, would you?”

Keith looks up at his prince, holding out a plate with a fork and a generously cut piece of cake on it. It’s deep red in color, dark and moist with stark white lines of icing separating each piece, and it looks terribly inviting.

Still, he hesitates, watching Lance with a questioning eye. The cake was made in their own castle, by cooks that have been employed by the royal family for years upon years, so there’s almost no chance of it being poisoned. The whole castle is guarded so heavily that they haven’t had an unwanted intruder in almost a decade, too. Really, there’s no need for him to test the prince’s food for any sort of imperfection.

“Well?” Lance questions, raising an eyebrow and holding the plate higher from his place at the table. They’re situated in the grand dining room, Lance sitting at the head of the table and Keith hovering by his side uncertainty. Aside from the two of them, the room is unoccupied, and at this hour it’s doubtful that they’d be interrupted by anyone. Still, Keith looks around slowly before answering, as if someone might pop out of the woodwork to reprimand him for his hesitation.

“Are you sure, my prince?” he asks, lowering his voice and leaning closer. Lance nods, closing his eyes and thrusting the cake at his bodyguard carelessly.

“Come on, we don’t have all day,” he says in a faux tired voice, despite the fact that his schedule is clear for the next two plus hours.

Confused, Keith reaches down to take the plate from Lance, grabbing the fork with his other hand. He hesitates a second more before cutting off the tip of the first layer of cake and picking it up gently, lifting it to his mouth as Lance watches.

As he’d been expecting, the cake is wonderful. It’s sweet and dense and moist, and it mingles with the icing deliciously in his mouth.

“Well?” Lance prompts, an eyebrow raised as he props his head up with an elbow on the table. (His table manners are atrocious, but there’s no one else there to catch him in the act.)

Keith swallows, licking a few stray crumbs from his lips before answering. “It’s good,” he says, then catches himself. “I mean, it’s safe, my prince.”

“Good,” Lance says, reaching up to take the plate back. “Try the wine, next. You never know what might be in it.”

They both know perfectly well that there’s nothing fishy in the wine--Lance had watched Keith open the bottle and pour it into the glass--but who is he to deny his highness’s request? Keith lifts the goblet of wine off of the table and up to his lips, taking a sip and relishing the burst of flavor across his tongue. Never let it be said that his prince doesn’t have taste, especially when it comes to food.

“It’s safe,” he says, setting the cup down and turning back to Lance. “Is that all?”

“Certainly not,” Lance says, a playful tone in his voice. “You’ll have to stay with me and test the rest of the food. You wouldn’t want your future ruler to die so young of poisoning, would you?”

“Of course not,” Keith says with a bow. “I’ll be here, my prince.”

“Good. You might as well have a seat.”

After a second of deliberation, Keith does as he’s told, pulling out the chair adjacent to Lance’s and taking a seat next to him. He’s sure this is against his standards as a bodyguard, but if Lance wants him to sit, he’s going to sit. After all, he’s never been one to disobey orders.

He watches Lance take a bite of the cake, closing his eyes and tilting his head back with a pleased smile. The prince has enjoyed the castle staff’s cooking for as long as he can remember, especially the sweets and desserts they sneak him every now and then when his parents are too busy to pay attention to what he eats. Which is why it’s so surprising when he holds the next forkful out to Keith instead of taking it for himself.

“But I already tested it,” Keith protests with a frown, even more confused. Lance shrugs, extending the fork further.

“I know,” he says casually, leaning forward in his seat. “Just eat it.”

Keith reaches out slowly, but Lance pulls the fork away before he can take it, redirecting it past his arm and towards his mouth. Keith blinks, shocked at the implication that his future king wants to  _ feed _ him like this, but Lance doesn’t seem bothered. He wiggles the fork up and down in front of Keith’s face like a parent trying to coax their child into eating something new.

Unsurely, Keith opens his mouth and leans forward, wrapping his lips around the fork before pulling back. The second bite of cake is bigger, with more frosting, and he can’t help but enjoy practically eating it out of Lance’s hand. He looks up from under his eyelashes, blushing when he sees Lance staring at him intently.

“Thank you,” he says as he lowers his eyes, although he’s not quite sure what he’s thankful for--the cake, or the sight in front of him. Lance dips his head in acknowledgement, reaching over to pour more wine into his goblet.

“My parents would never approve of this,” he says conversationally, lifting the cup to his lips. “Dining with a bodyguard? They’d have a heart attack.”

Keith swallows, wondering if he’s been mislead and this isn’t what Lance had wanted. “I apologize if-” he starts, but Lance cuts him off quickly.

“I suppose it’ll have to stay between us,” he finishes, his eyes drifting back to Keith. “Don’t you agree?”

“Yes, my prince.”

Lance smiles coyly, cutting off another bite of cake and taking it for himself. He keeps eye contact as he twists the fork around in his mouth, then pulling it off with a pop.

“The cooks really have outdone themselves this time,” he comments, ever so casual. “I should ask them to bake red velvet more often. Do you like red velvet, Keith?”

“Yes, my prince,” Keith repeats dutifully. It’s not even a lie--red velvet had been a favorite of his as a child, though he hasn’t had much of it in a while.

“We’re alone, you know,” Lance says, waving the fork in the air as if pointing out the empty spaces at the table. “You can call me Lance.”

Once again, Keith hesitates. It’s not unheard of for bodyguards and their royalty to become close enough to get on a first name basis, but it  _ is _ quite rare. He certainly hadn’t expected Lance to offer his name to him here, in the middle of a two-person banquet with no prompting whatsoever. But if that’s what he wants…

“Yes, my- Lance,” he agrees at last, catching himself at the last second. Lance’s name slides off his tongue easily, like butter melting on a skillet, and he finds that he likes the way it feels to say it.

Lance smiles at him softly, a content look on his face that has nothing to do with the food in front of him. “Good,” he says, cutting another forkful of cake from the piece on his plate. “Come here, Keith.”

Obediently, Keith leans over again and accepts the cake from his fork. The gesture seems less odd the second time around, and yet more intimate and special.

He manages a small smile as he chews, and Lance returns it easily, his whole self seeming to shine as bright as the sun. It’s one of those smiles Keith rarely sees on his face, one that doesn’t show up at balls or in courtrooms or even around his family. It’s only reserved for a select few things; things that truly make him happy.

As they finish off the cake together, Keith decides that he’s pleased to be one of those things.

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt fill for my Voltron Bingo card on Tumblr! This was really fun to write.  
> [My Tumblr](https://djbunn3.tumblr.com/)


End file.
